


are you listening

by totallyunrelated



Series: awkward conversations with aang and zuko [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aged-Up Characters, Gen, aang is embarrassed, four years after the war, light mentions of sex but nothing explicit, rebuilding the air temples
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:53:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25745413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/totallyunrelated/pseuds/totallyunrelated
Summary: Zuko needs to talk to Aang about the Air Temples, but when he catches Katara in Aang's room, he decides that there's something else he needs to talk to Aang about too.Set four years after the end of the Hundred Year War.
Relationships: Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar)
Series: awkward conversations with aang and zuko [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1864663
Comments: 17
Kudos: 229





	are you listening

The hallways of the Fire Nation palace were dark and quiet, only illuminated by torches placed at intervals along the walls. Soon the first rays of sunlight would begin to peek through, bathing the corridors in light, but for now the cloak of night covered everything in darkness. Despite the early hour, Fire Lord Zuko was wide awake, striding through the palace with his bodyguards the Kyoshi Warriors accompanying him as always, though unlike him they were none too pleased about the early morning stroll. Though vigilant as always, their steps quieter than a whisper, Zuko observed that Ty Lee was stifling a yawn and Suki’s makeup was messily done.

“Couldn’t this wait till morning?” asked Ty Lee, sounding a little put out. “I need my beauty sleep, you know.”

Zuko felt guilty that they’d had to wake up so early just to accompany him, insecurities resurfacing. He shouldn’t _need_ protection in his own damn palace. It felt like a testament to his own failure as a ruler that he had to be protected from assassins in his own home. The fact that he’d lost count of how many there’d been just made it worse; it highlighted just how many people hated him, just how many people he’d failed.

“I have meetings in the morning,” he said. “Both Aang and I will be so busy that we won’t have time to speak with each other. I’m sorry about making you wake up so early, but this is really important. I promise I wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t.”

Ty Lee shrank back a little, obviously guilty. “I know, I’m sorry, Zuko. I’m just tired, I didn’t mean it to come out like that…”

“It’s fine, Ty Lee. I get it. You’ve never been a morning person,” said Zuko, attempting to lighten the atmosphere.

It had been four years since the end of the war, and though things had certainly improved, they were still a long way away from true peace. Laws were easy to change, buildings could be replaced, but it was much, much harder to change the hearts and minds of people, not just from the Fire Nation, but from all over. The Fire Nation had to shake off a hundred years’ worth of propaganda and superiority. The other nations had to recover from a hundred years’ worth of devastation and pain. It certainly wasn’t easy for anyone involved, but they were trying, and every time Zuko saw even a bit of progress he was reminded all over again why he was working himself into the ground. It didn’t help that he was so young for a Fire Lord, too young for anyone to take him seriously. For those first few years it had constantly felt like he was fighting a battle on all sides, trying to convince both his own people and the other nations that he was capable and could be trusted. And he had practically been doing it all alone, with only Mai and occasionally his uncle to help him; his friends had all been needed elsewhere. It had definitely been an uphill battle, up a nearly vertical mountain, but it had got him to where he was now: respected - _not_ feared like Ozai - and actually capable of making good changes. 

Today was the last day of Aang’s visit and Zuko was desperate to talk to him. For the past week they had both been pulled into various meetings and celebrations, and for the rest of that time they’d been hanging out as a large group, catching up on their lives. Sure, he could just bring the proposal up in a meeting later that day, but he wanted Aang’s unfiltered input on it first. After all, the reconstruction of the Air Temples would concern him the most, and he needed Aang’s opinion as a friend, not as a fellow diplomatic leader.

Arriving outside Aang’s door, Zuko raised a hand to knock, only to pause when voices filtered out to him. They were pitched low, and the words were indistinguishable, but he still recognised the voices: Aang and Katara. He flushed. 

For the sake of propriety, Aang and Katara had been given separate rooms for the duration of their stay, though Zuko should have known it wouldn’t stay that way. Not that there was really anything wrong with it, he was sixteen and she was almost eighteen, they were both adults who were old enough to understand what they were doing, but Zuko still felt a protective flare. He didn’t even want to think about what they were doing in there, but he was sure he could guess. 

Trying valiantly to push those thoughts out of his head, he rapped sharply on the door. Suki and Ty Lee were snickering behind him. The voices abruptly ceased.

Zuko cleared his throat. “Aang? It’s Zuko. Are you up yet? I need to talk to you.”

Aang said something in a hushed voice to Katara. Zuko could hear rustling and shuffling, and tried not to think about that. Should he get better soundproofing? But then again, what if an assassin snuck in?

He waited. Finally, the door opened a crack and Aang slipped out, robes rumpled, though his eyes were clear and alert. He closed the door quietly behind him, preventing Zuko from seeing into the room.

“Hey, Zuko. What are you doing here so early?”

“I wanted to talk to you,” said Zuko. “Come on, we can go to my office.”

He led the way, Aang, Suki and Ty Lee trailing behind him. The girls were smirking knowingly at Aang, but he pointedly ignored them. “It’s five in the morning, Zuko,” said Aang, but he said it with curiosity instead of in rebuke.

“I know. I had to talk to you, alone, and my schedule is so packed today that I can’t even have lunch.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” Aang looked sympathetic, and Zuko knew he understood, that as the Avatar he was likely as busy as Zuko, if not more so. Still, he said, “Is there any way I can help?” He really was too kind for his own good, too willing to shoulder the burdens of everyone else even as his own weighed heavily on him. Zuko shook his head.

“No, it’s fine. I know you’re going to be busy too.” He gestured at Aang to take a seat, closing the door of his office behind him. Outside, Suki and Ty Lee take up their positions on either side of the door, guarding against any interruptions.

This was Zuko’s private office, not the one he usually took distinguished guests to. Unlike the other, more formal one, this one was cozier, with paperwork stacked on the desk and couches in the corner of the room. There was even armor chucked carelessly in the corner. It was where he normally worked, and as Mai had said once, practically his bedroom for all the times he’d fallen asleep there.

Aang slouched in the chair beside the desk, stifling a yawn. “So what did you have to talk to me about?”

Uncharacteristically nervous, Zuko rummaged through the sky-high pile of papers, trying to hide his shaking fingers. This was somewhat of a big deal and he wasn’t sure how Aang would take it, but he desperately hoped his friend would like it. 

“It’s been four years since we ended the war,” he began. 

“Mm-hmm.”

“Relationships between the four nations have been getting better, though I wouldn’t say _great_ just yet, and rebuilding is going well.”

“Uh-huh.” Aang looked a little puzzled, though Zuko couldn’t blame him.

“I’ve been thinking recently, since rebuilding and smoothing over relationships isn’t as much of a priority right now...we could afford to set aside some money to rebuild the Air Temples.”

Silence descended. Zuko tried his best not to fidget as he waited for Aang’s answer, afraid to look at him for fear of what he’d see on his friend’s face. Just when he couldn’t bear it anymore, Aang spoke, in a carefully neutral voice. 

“Where would that money come from?”

“It would be completely funded by the Fire Nation. I didn’t think it would be fair to ask the other nations to contribute, since, well, we were the ones who did the most damage.” _All_ of the damage.

Aang blinked. When Zuko finally looked up, there were tears streaming down his face. Feeling immediately guilty, he leapt over to hug his friend, desperately hoping that it hadn’t been a bad idea. 

“I’m sorry, I - are you okay? I shouldn’t have brought it up -”

“No,” said Aang, his voice thick. “Zuko, I...it’s a great idea. I’m really happy about it, and I’m glad that at least some of our culture will be preserved. It’s just that...I never thought about it, and that makes me feel like the absolute worst.”

“Aang, that’s - that’s not your fault,” protested Zuko. “You had so much to think about, no wonder it slipped your mind. You’ve been so busy these past four years.”

Aang shook his head. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. “Honestly, Zuko, you...you don’t have to do this. I mean, I want them to be restored, but even I have to acknowledge that the money could be better used elsewhere than on buildings that are going to stay uninhabited for a long, long time.”

“The Fire Nation has much to make up for, but the worst atrocity was the Air Nomad genocide,” replied Zuko. “There’s no way to bring the dead back, but at least I can do this. So that future generations will be able to learn about their history and so that part of the Air Nomads will still live on. We owe them that much.”

Overcome with tears, Aang did not reply; instead he just enveloped Zuko in a hug, trying to convey his gratitude, trying to tell his friend that he did not have to shoulder all those past wrongdoings himself.

“So, there is actually another thing I wanted to talk to you about,” said Zuko. Aang looked at him questioningly; he was already rising out of his chair.

“What is it?”

“Why was Katara in your room this morning?”

Aang immediately turned bright red and started spluttering. “W-what? How did you know?”

“The walls aren’t exactly soundproof, you know,” Zuko said drily. Clearly uncomfortable with where this was heading, Aang avoided meeting Zuko’s eyes, feet tapping against the ground. “I just wanted to make sure you guys were being safe. Has Katara been drinking her tea? I can have Uncle send some more over, if you’d like.”

He felt a weird sense of déjà vu as Aang blushed to the tips of his ears, obviously cursing his luck. He remembered their talk four years ago while they were still in the middle of the war, recalling fondly how _he_ had been the embarrassed one and Aang had been absolutely clueless, how he had cursed at every spirit he knew for putting him in that position.

“Yes, _Dad,”_ said Aang, staring hard at the floor. “Can we please not talk about this?”

“Oh, no,” grinned Zuko. He was enjoying this immensely. He held back a laugh as Aang groaned out loud, looking up at the ceiling pleadingly as if praying for divine help. “If you’re going to do things like that in my palace, you can talk about it. If you can’t even talk about it, then you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.”

He heard Aang sigh, obviously resigned to the fact that he had lost this argument. Rapidly, he said, “Katara’s been drinking her tea every night, I’ve been pulling out, we’ve discussed safewords and consent. Are you happy now? Can I go now?” He sounded rather petulant. Zuko finally took pity on him.

“Alright, fine,” he relented, but not before getting in one last jab. As Aang sprinted out the door, he called, “Have fun, but not _too_ much fun!”

Aang’s scream of frustration could be heard all the way in the South Pole.


End file.
